Methods and systems for operating a voltage regulator are described. A integrated circuit can be configured to adjust at least one of a deadtime parameter and a drive strength parameter of a power stage based on at least one of an input voltage being provided to a power stage, a switch node voltage of the power stage, and an output current of the power stage. A controller of the power stage can be further configured to adjust a deadtime of the power stage based on adjustment of the deadtime parameter. The controller can be further configured to adjust a drive strength of the first driver and the second driver based on adjustment of the drive strength parameter.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An apparatus comprising: a controller in a power stage; and an integrated circuit in the power stage configured to: initialize a deadtime parameter of the power stage; adjust a drive strength parameter based on an input voltage being provided to the power stage; in response to adjusting the drive strength parameter, determine whether to maintain the initialized deadtime parameter or to adjust the initialized deadtime parameter based on at least one of: a switch node voltage of the power stage, and an output current of the power stage; and latch the adjusted drive strength parameter and one of the maintained initialized deadtime parameter and the adjusted initialized deadtime parameter in storage elements; generate a periodic update signal; wait for a rising edge of the periodic update signal; in response to an occurrence of the rising edge of the periodic update signal, output the latched deadtime parameter and the latched drive strength parameter to a controller in the power stage; the controller in the power stage being configured to: adjust a deadtime of the power stage using one of the maintained initialized deadtime parameter and the adjusted initialized deadtime parameter latched in the storage elements; and adjust a drive strength of drivers in the power stage using the adjusted drive strength parameter latched in the storage elements.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is configured to, in response to the input voltage being greater than a predetermined reference voltage, adjust the drive strength parameter to reduce the drive strength of the drivers in the power stage.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is configured to adjust the deadtime parameter of the power stage based on the output current.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is configured to: in response to the input voltage being greater than a predetermined reference voltage, adjust the drive strength parameter to reduce the drive strength of the drivers in the power stage; optimize the initialized deadtime parameter to a full load deadtime (FLDT); compare the output current with a predetermined offset voltage; and in response to the output current being less than the predetermined offset voltage, adjust the FLDT to increase the deadtime of the power stage to the initialized deadtime parameter.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is configured to adjust the deadtime parameter of the power stage based on the switch node voltage.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is configured to: in response to the input voltage being greater than a predetermined reference voltage, adjust the drive strength parameter to reduce the drive strength of the drivers in the power stage; optimize the initialized deadtime parameter to a full load deadtime (FLDT); compare the switch node voltage with a predetermined offset voltage; and in response to the switch voltage being less than the predetermined offset voltage, adjust the FLDT to increase the deadtime of the power stage to the initialized deadtime parameter.
7. A system comprising: a plurality of power stages, wherein each power stage among the plurality of the power stages comprises: a first driver configured to drive a high side transistor of a power stage; a second driver configured to drive a low side transistor of the power stage; and a controller configured to: initialize a deadtime parameter of the power stage; adjust a drive strength parameter based on an input voltage being provided to the power stage; in response to adjusting the drive strength parameter, determine whether to maintain the initialized deadtime parameter or to adjust the initialized deadtime parameter based on at least one of: a switch node voltage of the power stage, and an output current of the power stage; latch the adjusted drive strength parameter and one of the maintained initialized deadtime parameter and the adjusted initialized deadtime parameter in storage elements; generate a periodic update signal; wait for a rising edge of the periodic update signal; and in response to an occurrence of the rising edge of the periodic update signal: adjust a deadtime of the power stage using one of the maintained initialized deadtime parameter and the adjusted initialized deadtime parameter latched in the storage elements; and adjust a drive strength of the first driver and the second driver using the adjusted drive strength parameter latched in the storage elements.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to, in response to the input voltage being greater than a predetermined reference voltage, adjust the drive strength parameter to reduce the drive strength of the first driver and the second driver.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the deadtime parameter of the power stage based on the output current.
10. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to: in response to the input voltage being greater than a predetermined reference voltage, adjust the drive strength parameter to reduce the drive strength of the first driver and the second driver; optimize the initialized deadtime parameter to a full load deadtime (FLDT); compare the output current with a predetermined offset voltage; and in response to the output current being less than the predetermined offset voltage, adjust the FLDT to increase the deadtime of the power stage to the initialized deadtime parameter.
11. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the deadtime parameter of the power stage based on the switch node voltage.
12. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to: in response to the input voltage being greater than a predetermined reference voltage, adjust the drive strength parameter to reduce the drive strength of the first driver and the second driver; optimize the initialized deadtime parameter to a full load deadtime (FLDT); compare the switch voltage with a predetermined offset voltage; and in response to the switch voltage being less than the predetermined offset voltage, adjust the FLDT to increase the deadtime of the power stage to the initialized deadtime parameter.
13. A method for operating a voltage regulator, the method comprising: measuring an input voltage being provided to a power stage; measuring a switch node voltage of the power stage; measuring an output current of the power stage; initialize a deadtime parameter of the power stage; adjusting a drive strength parameter of the power stage based on the measured input voltage; in response to adjusting the drive strength parameter, determining whether to maintain the initialized deadtime parameter or to adjust the initialized deadtime parameter of the power stage based on at least one of the measured switch node voltage and the measured output current; latching the adjusted drive strength parameter and one of the maintained initialized deadtime parameter and the adjusted initialized deadtime parameter in storage elements; generating a periodic update signal; wait for a rising edge of the periodic update signal; and in response to an occurrence of the rising edge of the periodic update signal: adjusting a deadtime of the power stage using one of the maintained initialized deadtime parameter and the adjusted initialized deadtime parameter latched in the storage elements; and adjusting a drive strength of drivers in the power stage using the adjusted drive strength parameter latched in the storage elements.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising adjusting the deadtime parameter of the power stage based on the output current.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: in response to the input voltage being greater than a predetermined reference voltage, adjusting the drive strength parameter to reduce the drive strength of the drivers in the power stage; optimizing the initialized deadtime parameter to a full load deadtime (FLDT); comparing the output current with a predetermined offset voltage; and in response to the output current being less than the predetermined offset voltage, adjusting the FLDT to increase the deadtime of the power stage to the initialized deadtime parameter.
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising adjusting the deadtime parameter of the power stage based on the switch node voltage.
17. The method of claim 13, further comprising: in response to the input voltage being greater than a predetermined reference voltage, adjusting the drive strength parameter to reduce the drive strength of the drivers in the power stage; optimizing the initialized deadtime parameter to a full load deadtime (FLDT); comparing the switch voltage with a predetermined offset voltage; and in response to the switch voltage being less than the predetermined offset voltage, adjusting the FLDT to increase the deadtime of the power stage to the initialized deadtime parameter.
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October 13, 2022
April 15, 2025
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